Alick Tipoti (born 1975), whose traditional name is Zugub, is a

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...

artist, linguist, and activist of the

Kala Lagaw Ya ''Kalau Lagau Ya'', ''Kalaw Lagaw Ya'', ''Kala Lagaw Ya'' (), or the ''Western Torres Strait language'' (also several other names, see below), is the language indigenous to the central and western Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia. O ...

people, from Badu Island, in the Zenadh Kes (Torres Strait). His work includes painting, installations, printmaking, sculpture and

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...

-making, and is focused on preserving the culture and languages of his people.

Early life and education

Tipoti was born in 1975 on Thursday Island and grew up on Badu Island (aka Mulgrave Island); he also has connections with Mabuiag Island. His father, Leniaso, was an artist and cultural adviser, and Alick developed an interest in art as a child. He was given the traditional name of Zugub in order to link him to the spirits of his ancestors, the Zugubal. He went to primary school on Badu Island, before moving to Thursday Island, gaining an Advance Diploma in Arts at the

TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...

college there in 1992 and later graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (

Printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...

) at the

Australia National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1998.

Career

Tipoti's artistic practice was initially focused on printmaking, using

linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum s ...

s. He began exhibiting in small galleries in

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...

in the early 1990s. In 2007 he started to make artistic versions of ceremonial masks out of fibreglass, inspired by the traditional turtleshell masks. He was commissioned to design an artwork for the floor of the Cairns Airport domestic arrivals hall as well as other buildings, and nine railway carriages of the

Tilt Train The Tilt Train is the name for two similar high-speed tilting train services, one electric and the other diesel, operated by Queensland Rail. They run on the North Coast line from Brisbane to Bundaberg and Rockhampton (electric) and Cairns (d ...

from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

in 2010. In 2015 he performed the Marimawa (spiritual mask dance) at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He has been a longtime friend of artist Dennis Nona (born 1973), who shares similar goals and influences. The work of both artists have been hugely influential in developing a "school of contemporary Torres Strait Islander art". Tipoti has also been a mentor and leader to younger artists in the Torres Strait Islands, who have been influenced by both artists' success.

Current practice

Tipoti's work includes

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, painting, dance and

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

. His subjects include legendary heroes and his creations include weapons, dhari (the Torres Strait Islander traditional headdress, as featured on the

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

), masks, and drums. His work reflects the culture of his people, the Maluyligal (Maluilgal) of the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

, with a strong focus on representing his language. His works sometimes have a strong narrative element, sometimes comprising more than one image, and he pays attention to minute details. He aims to document aspects of his culture, including stories, genealogies, and songs, so that future generations can learn from his work, and, as one of the last generations to speak

(of the Maluilgal nation) fluently, he is involved in programs that help to preserve the language. He also speaks Kala Kawa Ya (of the Guda Maluyligal nation). He teaches language, culture and history at Tagai State College and Thursday Island TAFE. He lives and works mostly in

Activism

Tipoti has been active in informing the public about the dangers of the

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

crisis in the Torres Strait, as well as

plastic pollution Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

in the ocean. His exhibit for the ''Taba Naba - Australia, Oceania, Arts of the Sea People'' which began at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco in 2016 brought him into contact with Prince Albert II of Monaco, a keen environmentalist. The prince subsequently visited the Torres Strait and stayed with Tipoti and his family. In 2021, the full-length

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

''Alick and Albert'', by

film producer Trish Lake and co-written by Tipoti, was released. It includes stories of the Badulgal people of Badu Island as well as the Monégasque people of Monaco, who are concerned about climate change and the future of the oceans. Most of the filming was able to be done before the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

of 2020–21 restricted people's movements. The film had its world premiere at the

Brisbane International Film Festival The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held in Brisbane, Australia. Organised by the Screen Culture unit at Screen Queensland, the festival has taken place since 1992, with the program including features, doc ...

in October 2021.

Recognition and awards

Tipoti has been honoured with a number of awards, starting when he was a student and in his early career. He was named as Townsville Pimlico TAFE College's Art Student of the Year in 1993, and

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

Scholar of the Year after his studies at ANU in 1997. In 1998 he won the Lin Onus Youth Prize in the 4th edition of the National Indigenous Heritage Art Award. Other awards include: * NAIDOC Awards: **1999: Torres Strait Senior Cultural Award **2009: Torres Strait Senior Cultural Award **2012: Torres Strait Artist of the Year *

National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award The National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) is Australia's longest running Indigenous art award. Established in 1984 as the National Aboriginal Art Award by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darw ...

(NATSIAA) **2003: 20th edition, Works on Paper **2007: 24th edition, Works on Paper **2008: 25th edition, People's Choice Award **2014: 31st edition, 3D Category,

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) is the main museum in the Northern Territory. The museum is located in the inner Darwin suburb of Fannie Bay. The MAGNT is governed by the Board of the Museum and Art Gallery of the ...

, Darwin *2001:

Fremantle Print Award The Fremantle Print Award is Australia's longest-running, most prestigious and largest printmaking award, and is awarded by the Fremantle Arts Centre, who also acquire the winning work. The award was established in 1976 with the support of Shell ...

, Non-Acquisitive Prize *2008: Fremantle Print Award, Non-Acquisitive Prize *2011: ACCELERATE Indigenous Leadership Award, awarded by the British Council and

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

*2012: Deadly Awards, Visual Artist of the Year Finalist

Exhibitions

His work has been included in many group exhibitions, including: *2012: ''UnDisclosed'': 2nd

National Indigenous Art Triennial The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

at the National Gallery of Australia *2012: 18th Biennale of Sydney *2016–2017: ''Taba Naba - Australia, Oceania, Arts of the Sea People'', exhibiting the largest artwork ever made by a Torres Strait Islander on the roof of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, in 2017 travelling to Switzerland, and on to the Ocean Conference at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

*2021: The National His solo exhibitions include: * 2007–2009: ''Malangu – From the Sea'': several galleries around the country, and at Arts d’Australie in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France * 2011: ''Mawa Adhaz Pa’ar'' – Sorcerer Masks, Australian Art Network Galleries at Canopy Artspace, Cairns * 2012: ''Badhulayg'' – Person of Badu,

Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi Gabrielle Pizzi (1940 – 5 December 2004), born Gabrielle Wren, was an Australian art dealer who promoted Aboriginal art from the Western Desert from the early 1980s. She created the Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in Melbourne in 1987. In 1990, Gabri ...

, Melbourne * 2015: ''Alick Tipoti Zugubal: Ancestral Spirits'',

Cairns Regional Gallery Cairns Court House Complex is a heritage-listed site incorporating a former courthouse and a former public administration building (now an art gallery) at 38–40 Abbott Street, Cairns City, Queensland, Cairns City, Cairns, Queensland, Cairns, ...

, Cairns * 2016: ''Lagangu'', Linden New Art, Melbourne VIC * 2020–2022: ''Mariw Minaral'' (Spititual Patterns), Australian National Maritime Museum,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Collections

His work is held in many collections in Australia and in other countries, including: * Art Gallery of Western Australia,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Arts Centre Melbourne Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...

* Australian Museum, Sydney *

, London *

, Cairns *

Cambridge University Museum Museums in the university town of Cambridge, England. {{Commons category, Museums in Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Buildings and structures in Cambridge Culture in Cambridge Education in Cambridge Organisations based in Cambridge Tourist attr ...

, UK * Canberra School of Arts, Australian National University * Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Surfers Paradise * Griffith University, Brisbane *

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, Melbourne * Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Noumea, New Caledonia * Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, University of Virginia, US * Musée des Confluences, Lyon, France *

, Darwin *

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), located on George Street in Sydney's The Rocks neighbourhood, is solely dedicated to exhibiting, interpreting, and collecting contemporary art, from across Australia and around the world. It is ...

, Sydney * National Gallery of Australia, Canberra * National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne * National Museum of Australia, Canberra *

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Gallery ...

, Brisbane * Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane * Torres Strait Regional Authority, Thursday Island * Parliament House, Canberra * Parliament House, Wellington, New Zealand

Films

*''Zugub, the mask, the spirits and the stars'' (2012) *''Alick and Albert'' (2021)

Footnotes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tipoti, Alick 1975 births Living people 21st-century Australian artists Torres Strait Islanders Indigenous Australian artists